Diamond nitrogen vacancy sensor with circuitry on diamond

ABSTRACT

A magnetic sensor assembly includes a base substrate and a material assembly. The material assembly is formed on the base substrate. The material assembly includes an assembly substrate. A magneto-optical defect center material having a plurality of magneto-optical defect centers is formed on the assembly substrate. A radio frequency (RF) excitation source is formed on the magneto-optical defect center material.

The disclosure generally relates to a sensor assembly of a magnetic sensor.

BACKGROUND

Magnetic sensors based on a nitrogen vacancy (NV) center in diamond are known. Diamond NV (DNV) sensors may provide good sensitivity for magnetic field measurements. Such magnetic sensor systems often include components such an an optical excitation source, an RF excitation source, and optical detectors. These components are all formed on different substrates or as separate components mechanically supported together.

SUMMARY

According to some embodiments, there may be provided a magnetic sensor assembly. The magnetic sensor assembly comprises: a base substrate; and a diamond assembly, formed on the base substrate, and comprising: an assembly substrate; nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers, and formed on the assembly substrate; and a radio frequency (RF) excitation source formed on the NV diamond material, wherein the RF excitation source has a spiral shape.

According to one aspect, the RF excitation source may comprise a first RF excitation source on a first side of the NV diamond material, and a second RF excitation source on a second side of the NV diamond material opposite to the first side.

According to another aspect, the RF excitation source may be formed on a first side the NV diamond material, and a size of the RF excitation source in a plane of the first side is greater than a size of the first side of the NV diamond material.

According to another aspect, the magnetic sensor assembly, may further comprise: an assembly substrate; and one or more optical detectors formed in a detector region in a plane on the assembly substrate, wherein a size of the RF excitation source in the plane is greater than a size of the detector region.

According to another aspect, the RF excitation source may be formed on a first side the NV diamond material, and a size of the RF excitation source in a plane of the first side is greater than a size of the first side of the NV diamond material.

According to another embodiment, there may be provided a magnetic sensor assembly. The magnetic sensor assembly comprises: a base substrate; and a diamond assembly, formed on the base substrate, and comprising: an assembly substrate; nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers, and formed on the assembly substrate; and a radio frequency (RF) excitation source formed on the NV diamond material.

According to one aspect, the RF excitation source may be in the form of a coil.

According to another aspect, the RF excitation source may comprises: a seed layer formed on a surface of the NV diamond material; and a film metallization layer formed on the seed layer.

According to another aspect, the film metallization layer may be formed of copper.

According to another aspect of the embodiment, the diamond assembly may further comprise an RF connector connected to the excitation source, the RF connector configured to connect to a power source and a controller.

According to another aspect, the base substrate may comprise a printed circuit board (PCB).

According to another embodiment, there may be provided magnetic sensor assembly. The magnetic sensor assembly comprises: a base substrate; and a material assembly, formed on the base substrate, and comprising: an assembly substrate; magneto-optical defect center material comprising a plurality of magneto-optical defect centers, and formed on the assembly substrate; and a radio frequency (RF) excitation source formed on the magneto-optical defect center material.

According to another embodiment, there may be provided a magnetic sensor assembly. The magnetic sensor assembly comprises: a base substrate; and

-   -   a diamond assembly, formed on the base substrate, and         comprising: an assembly substrate; nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond         material comprising a plurality of NV centers, and formed on the         assembly substrate; and an electromagnetic excitation source         formed on the NV diamond material or on the assembly substrate;         and power/logic circuits formed on the base substrate and         electrically connected to the electromagnetic excitation source         to provide control of the electromagnetic excitation source.

According to one aspect, electromagnetic excitation source may be an optical excitation source.

According to another aspect, the base substrate may comprises a printed circuit board (PCB).

According to another aspect, the magnetic sensor assembly may further comprise a power/logic connector electrically connected to the power/logic circuits and comprising a plurality of connectors configured to connect to an external power source and controller.

According to another aspect, at least some of the power/logic circuits may be mounted on a same top surface of the base substrate that the diamond assembly is mounted on.

According to another aspect, at least some of the power/logic circuits may be mounted on a bottom surface of the base substrate opposite to a surface of the base substrate that the diamond assembly is mounted on.

According to another embodiment, there may be provided a magnetic sensor assembly. The magnetic sensor assembly comprises: a base substrate; and a diamond assembly, formed on the base substrate, and comprising: an assembly substrate; nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers, and formed on the assembly substrate; and an optical excitation source formed on the NV diamond material.

According to one aspect, the optical excitation source may be one of a laser diode or a light emitting diode.

According to another embodiment, there may be provided a magnetic sensor assembly. The magnetic sensor assembly comprises: a base substrate; and a diamond assembly, formed on the base substrate, and comprising: an assembly substrate; nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers, and formed on the assembly substrate; and an optical detector formed on the assembly substrate.

According to another aspect, the optical detector may be a photodiode.

According to another aspect, the base substrate may comprise a printed circuit board (PCB).

According to another embodiment, there may be provided a magnetic sensor assembly. The magnetic sensor assembly comprises: a base substrate; and a diamond assembly, formed on the base substrate, and comprising: an assembly substrate; nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers, and formed on the assembly substrate; an optical excitation source formed on the assembly substrate; and an optical detector formed on the assembly substrate.

According to another aspect, the optical detector may be a photodiode.

According to another aspect, the optical excitation source may be one of a laser diode or a light emitting diode.

According to another embodiment, there may be provided a magnetic sensor assembly. The magnetic sensor assembly comprises: a base substrate; and a material assembly, formed on the base substrate, and comprising: an assembly substrate; magneto-optical defect center material comprising a plurality of magneto-optical defect centers, and formed on the assembly substrate; an optical excitation source formed on the assembly substrate; and an optical detector formed on the assembly substrate.

According to another embodiment, there may be provided a magnetic sensor assembly. The magnetic sensor assembly comprises: a base substrate; and a diamond assembly, formed on the base substrate, and comprising: an assembly substrate; nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers, and formed on the assembly substrate; a plurality of optical excitation sources formed on the assembly substrate; and a plurality of optical detectors formed on the assembly substrate.

According to another aspect, the optical excitation sources and the optical detectors may be arranged in an alternating fashion on the assembly substrate.

According to another aspect, the optical excitation sources and the optical detectors may be arranged in a checkerboard fashion.

According to another aspect, the optical excitation sources may be one of laser diodes or light emitting diodes.

According to another aspect, the optical detectors may be photodiodes.

According to another embodiment, there may be provided a magnetic sensor assembly. The magnetic sensor assembly comprises: a base substrate; and a diamond assembly, formed on the base substrate, and comprising: an assembly substrate; nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers, and formed on the assembly substrate; and a plurality of optical excitation sources formed on a top surface of the assembly substrate, wherein the assembly substrate has a plurality of connection pads on a bottom surface of the assembly substrate contacting corresponding conducting through connections extending through the assembly substrate and electrically connected to plurality of the optical excitation sources.

According to another aspect, the magnetic sensor assembly may further comprise a radio frequency (RF) excitation source formed on the NV diamond material.

According to another embodiment, there may be provided a method of forming a magnetic sensor assembly comprising: forming a base substrate; forming an assembly substrate on base substrate; forming a nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers on the assembly substrate; and forming a radio frequency (RF) excitation source on the NV diamond material.

According to another aspect, the forming a RF excitation source may form the RF excitation source in the form of a coil.

According to another aspect, the forming a RF excitation source may comprise: forming a seed layer on a surface of the NV diamond material; depositing a film metallization layer formed on the seed layer; and patterning the seed layer and the film metallization to form the RF excitation source in a spiral shape.

According to another aspect, the film metallization layer may be formed of copper.

According to another embodiment, there may be provided a method of forming a magnetic sensor assembly comprising: forming a base substrate; forming an assembly substrate on base substrate; forming a plurality of optical excitation sources on the assembly substrate; and forming a nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers on the assembly substrate.

According to another embodiment, there may be provided magnetic sensor assembly, comprising: a base substrate; and a material assembly, formed on the base substrate, and comprising: an assembly substrate; magneto-optical defect center material comprising a plurality of magneto-optical defect centers, and formed on the assembly substrate; and a radio frequency (RF) means, for providing an RF field, formed on the magneto-optical defect center material.

According to another embodiment, there may be provided a magnetic sensor assembly, comprising: a base substrate; and a material assembly, formed on the base substrate, and comprising: an assembly substrate; magneto-optical defect center material comprising a plurality of magneto-optical defect centers, and formed on the assembly substrate; an optical excitation means, for providing optical excitation, formed on the assembly substrate; and a detector means, for detecting optical radiation, formed on the assembly substrate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates one orientation of a NV center in a diamond lattice.

FIG. 2 is an energy level diagram illustrates energy levels of spin states for the NV center.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustrating a NV center magnetic sensor system.

FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating the fluorescence as a function of applied RF frequency of an NV center along a given direction for a zero magnetic field and a non-zero magnetic field.

FIG. 5 is a graph illustrating the fluorescence as a function of applied RF frequency for four different NV center orientations for a non-zero magnetic field.

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustrating a NV center magnetic sensor system according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7A is a top perspective view of a sensor assembly according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7B is a bottom perspective view of the sensor assembly of FIG. 7A.

FIG. 8A is a top perspective view of a diamond assembly of the sensor assembly of FIG. 7A.

FIG. 8B is a bottom perspective view of the diamond assembly of FIG. 8A.

FIG. 8C is a side view of an assembly substrate of the sensor assembly of FIG. 8A.

FIG. 9 is a top view of the diamond assembly of FIG. 8A.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are side views of diamond material with metal layers illustrating steps of forming a RF excitation source according to an embodiment.

FIG. 11A is a top view of the diamond assembly according to another embodiment.

FIG. 11B is a side view of the diamond assembly if FIG. 11A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present inventors have realized that the DNV magnetic sensors with a sensor assembly described herein provides a number of advantages over magnetic sensor systems where the optical excitation sources, RF excitation source, and optical detectors are all formed on different substrates or as separate components mechanically supported. The sensor assembly described provides for a diamond NV sensor system in a single compact homogeneous device. Providing the optical excitation sources and the optical detectors on the same assembly substrate, such as on a same silicon wafer, reduces the overall system cost, size and weight. Providing the RF excitation source directly on the NV diamond material reduces the overall system size and weight. Providing the optical detectors directly on the NV diamond material reduces the amount of the red fluorescence emitted by the NV centers lost to the surroundings, which improves the system efficiency. Providing the optical excitation sources directly on the NV diamond material increases the amount of the optical excitation light by drastically reducing the amount of optical excitation light lost to the environment. Combining the optical excitation sources, RF excitation source, and optical detectors directly on the NV diamond material results in a significant size reduction that results in NV diamond sensors that are usable in small consumer and industrial products

NV Center, its Electronic Structure, and Optical and RF Interaction

The nitrogen vacancy (NV) center in diamond comprises a substitutional nitrogen atom in a lattice site adjacent a carbon vacancy as shown in FIG. 1. The NV center may have four orientations, each corresponding to a different crystallographic orientation of the diamond lattice.

The NV center may exist in a neutral charge state or a negative charge state. Conventionally, the neutral charge state uses the nomenclature NV⁰, while the negative charge state uses the nomenclature NV, which is adopted in this description.

The NV center has a number of electrons including three unpaired electrons, each one from the vacancy to a respective of the three carbon atoms adjacent to the vacancy, and a pair of electrons between the nitrogen and the vacancy. The NV center, which is in the negatively charged state, also includes an extra electron.

The NV center has rotational symmetry, and as shown in FIG. 2, has a ground state, which is a spin triplet with ³A₂ symmetry with one spin state m_(s)=0, and two further spin states m_(s)=+1, and m_(s)=−1. In the absence of an external magnetic field, the m_(s)=±1 energy levels are offset from the m_(s)=0 due to spin-spin interactions, and the m_(s)=±1 energy levels are degenerate, i.e., they have the same energy. The m_(s)=0 spin state energy level is split from the m_(s)=±1 energy levels by an energy of 2.87 GHz for a zero external magnetic field.

Introducing an external magnetic field with a component along the NV axis lifts the degeneracy of the m_(s)=±1 energy levels, splitting the energy levels m_(s)=±1 by an amount 2gμ_(B)Bz, where g is the g-factor, μ_(B) is the Bohr magneton, and Bz is the component of the external magnetic field along the NV axis. This relationship is correct for a first order and inclusion of higher order corrections is a straight forward matter and will not affect the computational and logic steps in the systems and methods described below.

The NV center electronic structure further includes an excited triplet state ³E with corresponding m_(s)=0 and m_(s)=±1 spin states. The optical transitions between the ground state ³A₂ and the excited triplet ³E are predominantly spin conserving, meaning that the optical transitions are between initial and final states which have the same spin. For a direct transition between the excited triplet ³E and the ground state ³A₂, a photon of red light is emitted with a photon energy corresponding to the energy difference between the energy levels of the transitions.

There is, however, an alternate non-radiative decay route from the triplet ³E to the ground state ³A₂ via intermediate electron states, which are thought to be intermediate singlet states A, E with intermediate energy levels. Significantly, the transition rate from the m_(s)=±1 spin states of the excited triplet ³E to the intermediate energy levels is significantly greater than the transition rate from the m_(s)=0 spin state of the excited triplet ³E to the intermediate energy levels. The transition from the singlet states A, E to the ground state triplet ³A₂ predominantly decays to the m_(s)=0 spin state over the m_(s)=±1 spin states. These features of the decay from the excited triplet ³E state via the intermediate singlet states A, E to the ground state triplet ³A₂ allows that if optical excitation is provided to the system, the optical excitation will eventually pump the NV center into the m_(s)=0 spin state of the ground state ³A₂. In this way, the population of the m_(s)=0 spin state of the ground state ³A₂ may be “reset” to a maximum polarization determined by the decay rates from the triplet ³E to the intermediate singlet states.

Another feature of the decay is that the fluorescence intensity due to optically stimulating the excited triplet ³E state is less for the m_(s)=±1 states than for the m_(s)=0 spin state. This is so because the decay via the intermediate states does not result in a photon emitted in the fluorescence band, and because of the greater probability that the m_(s)=±1 states of the excited triplet ³E state will decay via the non-radiative decay path. The lower fluorescence intensity for the m_(s)=±1 states than for the m_(s)=0 spin state allows the fluorescence intensity to be used to determine the spin state. As the population of the m_(s)=±1 states increases relative to the m_(s)=0 spin, the overall fluorescence intensity will be reduced.

NV Center, or Magneto-Optical Defect Center, Magnetic Sensor System

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustrating a NV center magnetic sensor system 300 which uses fluorescence intensity to distinguish the m_(s)=±1 states, and to measure the magnetic field based on the energy difference between the m_(s)=+1 state and the m_(s)=−1 state. The system 300 includes an optical excitation source 310, which directs optical excitation to an NV diamond material 320 with NV centers. The system 300 further includes an RF excitation source 330 which provides RF radiation to the NV diamond material 320. Light from the NV diamond may be directed through an optical filter 350 to an optical detector 340.

The RF excitation source 330 may be a microwave coil, for example. The RF excitation source 330 when emitting RF radiation with a photon energy resonant with the transition energy between ground m_(s)=0 spin state and the m_(s)=+1 spin state excites a transition between those spin states. For such a resonance, the spin state cycles between ground m_(s)=0 spin state and the m_(s)=+1 spin state, reducing the population in the m_(s)=0 spin state and reducing the overall fluorescence at resonance. Similarly resonance occurs between the m_(s)=0 spin state and the m_(s)=−1 spin state of the ground state when the photon energy of the RF radiation emitted by the RF excitation source is the difference in energies of the m_(s)=0 spin state and the m_(s)=−1 spin state. At resonance between the m_(s)=0 spin state and the m_(s)=−1 spin state, or between the m_(s)=0 spin state and the m_(s)=+1 spin state, there is a decrease in the fluorescence intensity.

The optical excitation source 310 may be a laser or a light emitting diode, for example, which emits light in the green, for example. The optical excitation source 310 induces fluorescence in the red, which corresponds to an electronic transition from the excited state to the ground state. Light from the NV diamond material 320 is directed through the optical filter 350 to filter out light in the excitation band (in the green for example), and to pass light in the red fluorescence band, which in turn is detected by the detector 340. The optical excitation light source 310, in addition to exciting fluorescence in the diamond material 320, also serves to reset the population of the m_(s)=0 spin state of the ground state ³A₂ to a maximum polarization, or other desired polarization.

For continuous wave excitation, the optical excitation source 310 continuously pumps the NV centers, and the RF excitation source 330 sweeps across a frequency range which includes the zero splitting (when the m_(s)=±1 spin states have the same energy) photon energy of 2.87 GHz. The fluorescence for an RF sweep corresponding to a diamond material 320 with NV centers aligned along a single direction is shown in FIG. 4 for different magnetic field components Bz along the NV axis, where the energy splitting between the m_(s)=−1 spin state and the m_(s)=+1 spin state increases with Bz. Thus, the component Bz may be determined. Optical excitation schemes other than continuous wave excitation are contemplated, such as excitation schemes involving pulsed optical excitation, and pulsed RF excitation. Examples, of pulsed excitation schemes include Ramsey pulse sequence, and spin echo pulse sequence.

In general, the diamond material 320 will have NV centers aligned along directions of four different orientation classes. FIG. 5 illustrates fluorescence as a function of RF frequency for the case where the diamond material 320 has NV centers aligned along directions of four different orientation classes. In this case, the component Bz along each of the different orientations may be determined. These results along with the known orientation of crystallographic planes of a diamond lattice allows not only the magnitude of the external magnetic field to be determined, but also the direction of the magnetic field.

While FIG. 3 illustrates an NV center magnetic sensor system 300 with NV diamond material 320 with a plurality of NV centers, in general the magnetic sensor system may instead employ a different magneto-optical defect center material, with a plurality of magneto-optical defect centers. The electronic spin state energies of the magneto-optical defect centers shift with magnetic field, and the optical response, such as fluorescence, for the different spin states is not the same for all of the different spin states. In this way, the magnetic field may be determined based on optical excitation, and possibly RF excitation, in a corresponding way to that described above with NV diamond material.

FIG. 6 is a schematic of an NV center magnetic sensor 600, according to an embodiment of the invention. The sensor 600 includes an optical excitation source 610, which directs optical excitation to an NV diamond material 620 with NV centers, or another magneto-optical defect center material with magneto-optical defect centers. An RF excitation source 630 provides RF radiation to the NV diamond material 620. The NV center magnetic sensor 600 may include a bias magnet 670 applying a bias magnetic field to the NV diamond material 620. Light from the NV diamond material 620 may be directed through an optical filter 650 and an electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter 660, which suppresses conducted interference to an optical detector 640. The sensor 600 further includes a controller 680 arranged to receive a light detection signal from the optical detector 640 and to control the optical excitation source 610 and the RF excitation source 630.

The RF excitation source 630 may be a microwave coil, for example. The RF excitation source 630 is controlled to emit RF radiation with a photon energy resonant with the transition energy between the ground m_(s)=0 spin state and the m_(s)=±1 spin states as discussed above with respect to FIG. 3.

The optical excitation source 610 may be a laser or a light emitting diode, for example, which emits light in the green, for example. The optical excitation source 610 induces fluorescence in the red, which corresponds to an electronic transition from the excited state to the ground state. Light from the NV diamond material 620 is directed through the optical filter 650 to filter out light in the excitation band (in the green for example), and to pass light in the red fluorescence band, which in turn is detected by the optical detector 640. The EMI filter 660 is arranged between the optical filter 650 and the optical detector 640 and suppresses conducted interference. The optical excitation light source 610, in addition to exciting fluorescence in the NV diamond material 620, also serves to reset the population of the m_(s)=0 spin state of the ground state ³A₂ to a maximum polarization, or other desired polarization.

The controller 680 is arranged to receive a light detection signal from the optical detector 640 and to control the optical excitation source 610 and the RF excitation source 630. The controller may include a processor 682 and a memory 684, in order to control the operation of the optical excitation source 610 and the RF excitation source 630. The memory 684, which may include a nontransitory computer readable medium, may store instructions to allow the operation of the optical excitation source 610 and the RF excitation source 630 to be controlled.

According to one embodiment of operation, the controller 680 controls the operation such that the optical excitation source 610 continuously pumps the NV centers of the NV diamond material 620. The RF excitation source 630 is controlled to continuously sweep across a frequency range which includes the zero splitting (when the m_(s)=±1 spin states have the same energy) photon energy of 2.87 GHz. When the photon energy of the RF radiation emitted by the RF excitation source 630 is the difference in energies of the m_(s)=0 spin state and the m_(s)=−1 or m_(s)=+1 spin state, the overall fluorescence intensity is reduced at resonance, as discussed above with respect to FIG. 3. In this case, there is a decrease in the fluorescence intensity when the RF energy resonates with an energy difference of the m_(s)=0 spin state and the m_(s)=−1 or m_(s)=+1 spin states. In this way the component of the magnetic field Bz along the NV axis may be determined by the difference in energies between the m_(s)=−1 and the m_(s)=+1 spin states.

As noted above, the diamond material 620 will have NV centers aligned along directions of four different orientation classes, and the component Bz along each of the different orientations may be determined based on the difference in energy between the m_(s)=−1 and the m_(s)=+1 spin states for the respective orientation classes. In certain cases, however, it may be difficult to determine which energy splitting corresponds to which orientation class, due to overlap of the energies, etc. The bias magnet 670 provides a magnetic field, which is preferably uniform on the NV diamond material 620, to separate the energies for the different orientation classes, so that they may be more easily identified.

A sensor assembly 700, which includes a base substrate 710 and a diamond assembly 720, or a material assembly generally, of a NV center magnetic sensor according to an embodiment, is illustrated in FIGS. 7A, 7B, 8A, 8B, 8C and 9. FIGS. 7A and 7B respectively illustrates a top perspective view, and a bottom perspective view of the sensor assembly 700. FIGS. 8A and 8B respectively illustrate a top perspective view, and a bottom perspective view of the diamond assembly 720. FIG. 8C illustrates a side view of an assembly substrate 750 of the diamond assembly 720. FIG. 9 illustrates a top view of the diamond assembly 720.

The sensor assembly 700 includes a base substrate 710, and a diamond assembly 720 arranged on the base substrate 710. The sensor assembly 700 further includes power/logic circuits 730, which may be in the form of chips, mounted on the base substrate 710, both on a top surface 712 adjacent the diamond assembly 720, and on bottom surface 714 opposite to the top surface 712. Attachment elements 740, such as screws for example, extending in the base substrate 710, allow for the attachment of the sensor assembly 700 to further components. The base substrate 710 may be, for example, a printed circuit board (PCB).

The diamond assembly 720 has the assembly substrate 750, and NV diamond material 752, or another magneto-optical defect center material with magneto-optical defect centers, formed over the assembly substrate 750. As best seen in FIGS. 8A and 9, the diamond assembly 720 includes a plurality of optical excitation sources 754 and a plurality of optical detectors 756 on, or embedded in, the assembly substrate 750. An RF excitation source 758 is formed on the NV diamond material 752, and connected to an RF connector 760. The optical excitation sources 754 and the RF excitation source 758 are in general terms electromagnetic excitation sources.

As seen in FIGS. 7A, 8A and 9, the optical excitation sources 754 and the optical detectors 756 may be arranged in an alternating fashion, such as the checkerboard arrangement shown. While FIGS. 7A, 8A and 9 illustrate an arrangement with four optical excitation sources 754 and five optical detectors 756, other numbers of optical excitation sources 754 and optical detectors 756 are contemplated. The alternating arrangement of the optical excitation sources 754 and the optical detectors 756 reduces the amount of the red fluorescence emitted by the NV diamond material 752 lost to the surroundings, which improves the system efficiency The optical excitation sources 754 and the optical detectors 756 need not be arranged in an alternating fashion.

As seen in FIGS. 8B and 8C, a bottom surface 762 of the assembly substrate 750, opposite to a top surface 766 adjacent the NV diamond material 752, has a plurality of connection pads 764. Conductive through connections 768 electrically connect the connection pads 764 to the top surface 766, and electrically connect to the optical excitation sources 754 and the plurality of optical detectors 756 to allow control of the optical excitation sources 754 and to receive optical signals from the plurality of optical detectors 756. The power/logic circuits 730 are electrically connected to the connection pads 764 via wirings 734 on the base substrate 710, to allow control of the optical excitation sources 754 and to receive optical signals from the plurality of optical detectors 756. In the case the power/logic circuits 730 are mounted on the bottom surface 714 of the base substrate 710, the wirings 734 may extend through the base substrate 710 to those power/logic circuits 730.

A power/logic connector 732 is electrically connected to the power/logic circuits 730. The power/logic connector 732 includes a plurality of connectors 733, which allow for connection of power/logic circuits 730 to a power source and controller (not shown in FIGS. 7A-9) external to the sensor assembly 700, such as the controller 680 illustrated in FIG. 6. The control functions may be split between the power logic circuits 730 and the external controller. Similarly, the RF connector 760 allows for connection of the RF excitation source 758 to a power source and controller (not shown in FIGS. 7A-9) outside the sensor assembly 700, such as the controller 680 illustrated in FIG. 6.

The assembly substrate 750 may be a semiconductor material, such as silicon, upon which the plurality of optical excitation sources 754 and a plurality of optical detectors 756 are formed. The assembly substrate 750 may be a silicon wafer, for example. The optical excitation sources 754 may be laser diodes or light emitting diodes (LEDs), for example. The optical excitation sources 754 emit light which excites fluorescence in the NV diamond material 752, and may emit in the green, such at a wavelength of about 532 nm or 518 nm, for example. Preferably, the excitation light is not in the red so as to not interfere with the red fluorescent light collected and detected. The optical detectors 756 detect light, and in particular detect light in the red fluorescence band of the NV diamond material 752. The optical excitation sources 754 and the optical detectors 756 may be formed on a single silicon wafer as the assembly substrate 750 using fabrication techniques known for silicon fabrication, such as doping, ion implantation, and patterning techniques.

The power/logic circuits 730 and the power/logic connecter 732 are mounted on the base substrate 710, which may be a PCB. The mounting may be performed by soldering, for example. Once the optical excitation sources 754 and the optical detectors 756 are formed on the assembly substrate 750, the NV diamond material 752 is attached with the assembly substrate 750.

The RF excitation source 758 may be formed on the NV diamond material 752 in the form of a coil as seen in FIG. 8A, for example. The RF excitation source 758 acts as a microwave RF antenna. The RF excitation source 758 may be formed by forming a metal material on the NV diamond material 752 followed by patterning the metal material. The metal material may be patterned by photolithography techniques, for example.

As shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the metal material may be formed on the NV diamond material 752 first by forming a thin film seed layer 770 on the NV diamond material 752, followed by depositing a film metallization 772 on the seed layer 770. The seed layer 770 may be, for example, TiW, and the film metallization 772 may be Cu, for example. Once the seed layer 770 and the film metallization 772 are formed, they are patterned, such as by photolithography techniques, for example, to form the RF excitation source 758 into a coil shape. The RF connector 760 is then formed at one end of the coil shaped RF excitation source 758.

The sensor assembly described herein provides a number of advantages over magnetic sensor systems where the optical excitation sources, RF excitation source, and optical detectors are all formed on different substrates or as separate components mechanically supported. The sensor assembly described provides for a diamond NV sensor system in a single compact homogeneous device. Providing the optical excitation sources and the optical detectors on the same assembly substrate, such as on a same silicon wafer, reduces the overall system cost, size and weight. Providing the RF excitation source directly on the NV diamond material reduces the overall system size and weight. Providing the optical detectors directly on the NV diamond material reduces the amount of the red fluorescence emitted by the NV centers lost to the surroundings, which improves the system efficiency. Providing the optical excitation sources directly on the NV diamond material increases the amount of the optical excitation light by drastically reducing the amount of optical excitation light lost to the environment. Combining the optical excitation sources, RF excitation source, and optical detectors directly on the NV diamond material results in a significant size reduction that results in NV diamond sensors that are usable in small consumer and industrial products.

FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate a diamond assembly according to another embodiment. In this embodiment the RF excitation source 758, which may comprise a first RF excitation source 758 a and second RF excitation source 758 b, is larger in the plane of the NV diamond material 752 than the NV diamond material 752. The first RF excitation source 758 a and the second RF excitation source 758 b are on opposite sides of the NV diamond material 752. The plane of the NV diamond material 752 is horizontal and into the page in FIG. 11A, and is parallel to the page in FIG. 11B. While FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate two RF excitation source 758 a and 758 b, only a single RF excitation source may be provided. The diamond assembly of FIGS. 11A and 11B further may include optical detectors 756 and optical excitation sources 754 in a similar fashion to earlier disclosed embodiments.

The shape of first RF excitation source 758 a and second RF excitation source 758 a may be spiral as shown in FIG. 11A (as well as in FIGS. 7A, 8A and 9). The spiral shape provides a maximum field with low driving power, thus providing good efficiency. Moreover, the spiral shape allows for the coil of the RF excitation source to be made larger, which allows for a more uniform field over a larger device.

The size of the first RF excitation source 758 a and second RF excitation source 758 a in the plane of the top surface 780 of the NV diamond material 752 is greater than a size of the top surface 780 in the plane. The greater size allows for a more uniform field provided by the RF excitation sources 758 a and 758 b applied to the NV diamond material 752. In this regard, the RF excitation sources 758 a and 758 b are on the NV diamond material 752, but further extend to a support material 900 laterally adjacent the NV diamond material 752. The support material may be a material other than diamond, or may be diamond substantially without NV centers, for example. The size of the first RF excitation source 758 a and second RF excitation source 758 a in the plane of the top surface 780 of the NV diamond material 752 is also greater than a size of a detector region 902 which includes the optical detectors 756.

The embodiments of the inventive concepts disclosed herein have been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the inventive concepts. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A magnetic sensor assembly, comprising: a base substrate; and a diamond assembly, formed on the base substrate, and comprising: an assembly substrate; nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers, and formed on the assembly substrate; and a radio frequency (RF) excitation source formed on the NV diamond material, wherein the RF excitation source has a spiral shape.
 2. The magnetic sensor assembly of claim 1, wherein the RF excitation source comprises a first RF excitation source on a first side of the NV diamond material, and a second RF excitation source on a second side of the NV diamond material opposite to the first side.
 3. The magnetic sensor assembly of claim 1, wherein RF excitation source is formed on a first side the NV diamond material, and a size of the RF excitation source in a plane of the first side is greater than a size of the first side of the NV diamond material.
 4. The magnetic sensor assembly of claim 1, further comprising: an assembly substrate; and one or more optical detectors formed in a detector region in a plane on the assembly substrate, wherein a size of the RF excitation source in the plane is greater than a size of the detector region.
 5. The magnetic sensor assembly of claim 4, wherein RF excitation source is formed on a first side the NV diamond material, and a size of the RF excitation source in a plane of the first side is greater than a size of the first side of the NV diamond material.
 6. A magnetic sensor assembly, comprising: a base substrate; and a diamond assembly, formed on the base substrate, and comprising: an assembly substrate; nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers, and formed on the assembly substrate; and a radio frequency (RF) excitation source formed on the NV diamond material.
 7. The magnetic sensor assembly of claim 6, wherein the RF excitation source is in the form of a coil.
 8. The magnetic sensor assembly of claim 6, wherein the RF excitation source comprises: a seed layer formed on a surface of the NV diamond material; and a film metallization layer formed on the seed layer.
 9. The magnetic assembly of claim 6, wherein the film metallization layer is formed of copper.
 10. The magnetic sensor assembly of claim 6, where the diamond assembly further comprises an RF connector connected to the excitation source, the RF connector configured to connect to a power source and a controller.
 11. The magnetic sensor assembly of claim 6, wherein the base substrate comprises a printed circuit board (PCB).
 12. A magnetic sensor assembly, comprising: a base substrate; and a material assembly, formed on the base substrate, and comprising: an assembly substrate; magneto-optical defect center material comprising a plurality of magneto-optical defect centers, and formed on the assembly substrate; and a radio frequency (RF) excitation source formed on the magneto-optical defect center material.
 13. A magnetic sensor assembly, comprising: a base substrate; and a diamond assembly, formed on the base substrate, and comprising: an assembly substrate; nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers, and formed on the assembly substrate; and an electromagnetic excitation source formed on the NV diamond material or on the assembly substrate; and power/logic circuits formed on the base substrate and electrically connected to the electromagnetic excitation source to provide control of the electromagnetic excitation source.
 14. The magnetic sensor assembly of claim 13, wherein electromagnetic excitation source is an optical excitation source.
 15. The magnetic sensor assembly of claim 13, wherein the base substrate comprises a printed circuit board (PCB).
 16. The magnetic sensor assembly of claim 13, further comprising a power/logic connector electrically connected to the power/logic circuits and comprising a plurality of connectors configured to connect to an external power source and controller.
 17. The magnetic sensor assembly of claim 13, wherein at least some of the power/logic circuits are mounted on a same top surface of the base substrate that the diamond assembly is mounted on.
 18. The magnetic sensor assembly of claim 13, wherein at least some of the power/logic circuits are mounted on a bottom surface of the base substrate opposite to a surface of the base substrate that the diamond assembly is mounted on.
 19. A magnetic sensor assembly, comprising: a base substrate; and a diamond assembly, formed on the base substrate, and comprising: an assembly substrate; nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers, and formed on the assembly substrate; and an optical excitation source formed on the NV diamond material.
 20. The magnetic sensor assembly of claim 19, wherein the optical excitation source is one of a laser diode or a light emitting diode.
 21. A magnetic sensor assembly, comprising: a base substrate; and a diamond assembly, formed on the base substrate, and comprising: an assembly substrate; nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers, and formed on the assembly substrate; and an optical detector formed on the assembly substrate.
 22. The magnetic sensor assembly of claim 21, wherein the optical detector is a photodiode.
 23. The magnetic sensor assembly of claim 21, wherein the base substrate comprises a printed circuit board (PCB).
 24. A magnetic sensor assembly, comprising: a base substrate; and a diamond assembly, formed on the base substrate, and comprising: an assembly substrate; nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers, and formed on the assembly substrate; an optical excitation source formed on the assembly substrate; and an optical detector formed on the assembly substrate.
 25. The magnetic sensor assembly of claim 24, wherein the optical detector is a photodiode.
 26. The magnetic sensor assembly of claim 24, wherein the optical excitation source is one of a laser diode or a light emitting diode.
 27. A magnetic sensor assembly, comprising: a base substrate; and a material assembly, formed on the base substrate, and comprising: an assembly substrate; magneto-optical defect center material comprising a plurality of magneto-optical defect centers, and formed on the assembly substrate; an optical excitation source formed on the assembly substrate; and an optical detector formed on the assembly substrate.
 28. A magnetic sensor assembly, comprising: a base substrate; and a diamond assembly, formed on the base substrate, and comprising: an assembly substrate; nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers, and formed on the assembly substrate; a plurality of optical excitation sources formed on the assembly substrate; and a plurality of optical detectors formed on the assembly substrate.
 29. The magnetic sensor assembly of claim 28, wherein the optical excitation sources and the optical detectors are arranged in an alternating fashion on the assembly substrate.
 30. The magnetic sensor assembly of claim 29, wherein the optical excitation sources and the optical detectors are arranged in a checkerboard fashion.
 31. The magnetic sensor assembly of claim 28, wherein the optical excitation sources are one of laser diodes or light emitting diodes.
 32. The magnetic sensor assembly of claim 28, wherein the optical detectors are photodiodes.
 33. A magnetic sensor assembly, comprising: a base substrate; and a diamond assembly, formed on the base substrate, and comprising: an assembly substrate; nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers, and formed on the assembly substrate; and a plurality of optical excitation sources formed on a top surface of the assembly substrate, wherein the assembly substrate has a plurality of connection pads on a bottom surface of the assembly substrate contacting corresponding conducting through connections extending through the assembly substrate and electrically connected to plurality of the optical excitation sources.
 34. The magnetic sensor assembly of claim 33, further comprising a radio frequency (RF) excitation source formed on the NV diamond material.
 35. A method of forming a magnetic sensor assembly comprising: forming a base substrate; forming an assembly substrate on base substrate; forming a nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers on the assembly substrate; and forming a radio frequency (RF) excitation source on the NV diamond material.
 36. The method of forming a magnetic sensor assembly according to claim 35, wherein the forming a RF excitation source forms the RF excitation source in the form of a coil.
 37. The method of forming a magnetic sensor assembly according to claim 35, wherein the forming a RF excitation source comprises: forming a seed layer on a surface of the NV diamond material; depositing a film metallization layer formed on the seed layer; and patterning the seed layer and the film metallization to form the RF excitation source in a spiral shape.
 38. The method of forming a magnetic sensor assembly according to claim 37, wherein the film metallization layer is formed of copper.
 39. A method of forming a magnetic sensor assembly comprising: forming a base substrate; forming an assembly substrate on base substrate; forming a plurality of optical excitation sources on the assembly substrate; and forming a nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers on the assembly substrate.
 40. A magnetic sensor assembly, comprising: a base substrate; and a material assembly, formed on the base substrate, and comprising: an assembly substrate; magneto-optical defect center material comprising a plurality of magneto-optical defect centers, and formed on the assembly substrate; and a radio frequency (RF) means, for providing an RF field, formed on the magneto-optical defect center material.
 41. A magnetic sensor assembly, comprising: a base substrate; and a material assembly, formed on the base substrate, and comprising: an assembly substrate; magneto-optical defect center material comprising a plurality of magneto-optical defect centers, and formed on the assembly substrate; an optical excitation means, for providing optical excitation, formed on the assembly substrate; and a detector means, for detecting optical radiation, formed on the assembly substrate. 